Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran’s Embassy in Baku said that the incident which took place with the US military ship in Persian Gulf was nothing “extraordinary”, and dismissed Washington’s allegations about the incident.

TEHRAN (FNA) Edison SpA, Italy’s second biggest power generator, has won a bid to explore for oil and gas in Iran.

TEHRAN (FNA) Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrekar Shirazi and Managing Director of Syrian Gas company Ali Abbas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday for export of Iran’s gas o Syria by the end of 2009, it was announced on Tuesday.

TEHRAN (FNA) National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) and the Italian company Edison will sign a contract on the exploration and development of Dayyer Block here today.

TEHRAN (FNA) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will ask Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to restore the flow of natural gas to Turkey after it was cut off this week, he was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

GENEVA – About 151,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the three years following the U.S.-led invasion of their country, according to World Health Organization (WHO) research published on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD – Six U.S. soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a house rigged with explosives blew up north of Baghdad during a new U.S.-Iraqi offensive targeting al Qaeda guerrillas in Iraq, the U.S. military said.

KIRKUK, Iraq – Two car bombs exploded outside two churches in the volatile northern city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, police said, the latest in a wave of attacks on Christian targets in Iraq this week.

ISLAMABAD – Plagued by mounting attacks by Islamist militants loyal to al Qaeda, Pakistan now faces a second wave of violence as its minority Shi’ite Muslims prepare for their annual mourning period.

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces have arrested a retired army major suspected of being the mastermind behind a suicide attack on an air force bus which killed eight people, an intelligence official said on Wednesday.